From Atlanta To Rome: Italy Part 1
On July 4, 2019, we boarded a Delta plane at Atlanta's Hartsfield Internat'l Airport to leave the country we love for a few days. We were headed to Rome, Italy - a first trip to the European continent for both myself and Mary Beth. Kevin had visited Spain, so he was a continent up on us!
We had a 4 hour layover at Charles de Gaulle in Paris, which was about an hour and a half too long, even considering that we had to go through border security/customs. Both France and Italy are part of the Schengen Area and honor each others' border controls, so once we went through border security in Paris, we didn't have to do that again in Rome. We flew right through the border control process and then had plenty of time to wait. We got a snack, and soon enough, we were on our way and landing in the Eternal City.
We had reserved a private car through our hotel to pick us up, but it didn't show. After a phone call with the hotel during which they offered either to send another which would require waiting, we decided to take a taxi. A van driver heard us talking and offered to drive us to the hotel for 60 euros. Here's where advance research paid off. We knew already that a taxi would cost a fixed price of 48. So we blew him off and just got the taxi. A good piece of advice we were given later was to always take a picture of the taxi's number before getting in, and to do it obviously so that the driver knows you can report him if he tries to scam you. As we learned, scamming is an Italian specialty. This article is very helpful for understanding taxi use in Rome.
The ride to the hotel was fascinating. First, we observed that lane lines on the road are not really rules but more like guidelines. The traffic flows kind of intuitively, sort of like the heavy crowds between classes in high school. Just shoulder your way through. We drove through some of the historic area on the way - this was our only sighting of the Spanish steps. Our hotel was on a tight little alley you wouldn't have thought a car could drive through, but they do. We were so tired when we arrived, but happy to have made it.
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Part 2
We had a 4 hour layover at Charles de Gaulle in Paris, which was about an hour and a half too long, even considering that we had to go through border security/customs. Both France and Italy are part of the Schengen Area and honor each others' border controls, so once we went through border security in Paris, we didn't have to do that again in Rome. We flew right through the border control process and then had plenty of time to wait. We got a snack, and soon enough, we were on our way and landing in the Eternal City.
We had reserved a private car through our hotel to pick us up, but it didn't show. After a phone call with the hotel during which they offered either to send another which would require waiting, we decided to take a taxi. A van driver heard us talking and offered to drive us to the hotel for 60 euros. Here's where advance research paid off. We knew already that a taxi would cost a fixed price of 48. So we blew him off and just got the taxi. A good piece of advice we were given later was to always take a picture of the taxi's number before getting in, and to do it obviously so that the driver knows you can report him if he tries to scam you. As we learned, scamming is an Italian specialty. This article is very helpful for understanding taxi use in Rome.
The ride to the hotel was fascinating. First, we observed that lane lines on the road are not really rules but more like guidelines. The traffic flows kind of intuitively, sort of like the heavy crowds between classes in high school. Just shoulder your way through. We drove through some of the historic area on the way - this was our only sighting of the Spanish steps. Our hotel was on a tight little alley you wouldn't have thought a car could drive through, but they do. We were so tired when we arrived, but happy to have made it.
Back to the index
Part 2
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